Hello everyone,
Please start by downloading the latest version of volume D03.
If you are new to the course, please read this message to familiarize yourself with the conditions for participating in the lessons. You should also read the first message in lesson 1, where you will find advice on how to make the most of your study time and on the methods of practising that I recommend.

Now we are going to work on a series of exercises:
- page 100, numbers 46 and 47 Jean-François DELCAMP (1956) BARRÉ - BARRÉ - BARRÉ – CEJILLA

You have to be careful and listen to what your body is telling you when you begin to practise the barré. Be sure to keep in mind that if you overdo your practising of the barré, you risk developing tendonitis which often takes a long time to heal and will cause you a good deal of stress if, like me, you love the guitar with a passion. Pain is a warning sign that should be respected. As soon as you feel pain, you should have the wisdom to stop practising immediately until the next day. In the 80's, I wasn't prepared to listen to the pain caused by practising the barré, and only a total break from the guitar lasting a whole year enabled me to start playing again. Now I stop immediately at the first warning sign of pain. Since I started being careful, I've had no more problems.

To acquire the technique for the barré, it is essential above all not to force it. The ideal is to practise a little, but every day.

- For greater effectiveness, the thumb is placed opposite the middle finger, rather than behind the index finger making the barré.
- Place the index finger very close to the fret, almost on top of it.
- Make sure that your shoulder, forearm, wrist and hand are really relaxed. Only the fingers should be exerting a light pressure, otherwise you'll be heading for disaster and at risk of jeopardizing your future progress by giving yourself tendonitis. Relaxing the arm and forearm allows you to take advantage of the weight of the arm and forearm to help the index finger to press more easily against the strings.
- Avoid bending the left wrist, as that will hurt and will impede the action of the fingers. Find the position (of the guitar neck, your elbow and your shoulder) which will allow you to make the barré without bending your wrist.

- The creases of the finger joints cause some slight problems. In particular the crease of the joint between the last two bones of the index finger (the middle and distal phalanges).

To illustrate this, here are 2 photos of my right hand index finger ready to make a barré (I am left handed). I am not pressing on the strings, so that the crease of the joint is more visible.
1. In this photograph, the joint crease of the index finger is situated exactly over the third string, so the third string will not be pressed fully against the fingerboard, and the sound will be muffled or non-existent.
joint crease of the index finger on the 3rd string
2. A solution is to position this crease where it will not cause a problem (between the strings)
joint crease of the index finger between the 3rd and 4th strings

Practising the barré demands patience. The first results of this practice (improvement in strength) only become noticeable after several weeks or months of daily practice.

The tension of the strings (normal, hard, or extra hard) also plays a role in barrés. A set of "extra hard" tension strings requires more strength than a "normal" tension set. A "normal" tension set of strings and a low action* will help you.
* The action of a guitar is the distance between the stationary string and the frets, usually measured at the 12th fret. You can have the action adjusted by a luthier.

Next, we will be working on 4 pieces.
- page 20 Emmanuel ADRIAENSSEN (1554-1604) BRANLE ANGLAIS

This dance will serve as a basis for improvisation work proposed in lesson N. 7. The sequence of the chords requires imagination to avoid monotony. In order to avoid monotony use dynamic changes (fortissimo, forte, piano, pianissimo), different sound colors (sound hole, fingerboard, bridge, with nail, no nail) and different strumming styles: rasgueados, plucked chords, arpegiated to the bass or treble, etc … .

- page 80 ANONYME (ca. 1850) NESTA RUA
The piece is in 2/2 time. Maintain some flexibility in your rhythm (rubato), while balancing the parts where you speed up against those where you slow down, so that you don't alter the overall duration of the phrases.

1.Time Signature: 4/4
2.Tempo:96
3.Strokes: Not defined
4.Measures: 17
5.Phrases: Not defined
6.Dampings:16
7.Repeats:Yes,m1 to m16,Volta brackets at m16,17, (1st and 2nd endings, or 1st- and 2nd-time bars)
A repeated passage is to be played with different endings on different playings; it is possible to have more than two endings (1st, 2nd, 3rd ...).wiki
8.Special effects: Not defined
9."#" symbol: Yes, m2,5,6,10,11,14,15,17
10.Natural Symbols:No
11.Lyrics: No
12.Rest: Yes,half note
13.Glissando/Slide:No
14.Grace note:No
15.Slur:Yes
16.Articulation:No
17.Dotted notes:No
Definition:Slur
Indicates to play two or more notes in one physical stroke, one uninterrupted breath, or (on instruments with neither breath nor bow) connected into a phrase as if played in a single breath. In certain contexts, a slur may only indicate to play the notes legato. In this case, rearticulation is permitted.wiki

b.page 21 Gaspar SANZ (1640-1710) JACARAS

1.Time Signature: 3/4
2.Tempo:184
3.Strokes: Not defined
4.Measures: 9
5.Phrases: Not defined
6.Dampings:4
7.Repeats:Yes,m1 to m5 and m6 to m10
8.Special effects: No
9."#" symbol: Yes, measure3,4,8,9
10.Natural Symbols:No
11.Lyrics: No
12.Rest: No
13.Glissando/Slide:No
14.Grace note:No
15.Slur:No
16.Articulation:No
17.Dotted notes:No
18.Barre:Yes,m6,7
19.Flat:Yes,b flat
20.Up bow or Sull'arco:Yes
21.Down bow or Giù arco
Definition Up bow:On a bowed string instrument, the note is played while drawing the bow upward. On a plucked string instrument played with a plectrum or pick (such as a guitar played pickstyle or a mandolin), the note is played with an upstroke.wiki

DefinitionDown bow:Like sull'arco, except the bow is drawn downward. On a plucked string instrument played with a plectrum or pick (such as a guitar played pickstyle or a mandolin), the note is played with a downstroke.wiki

c.page 81 ANONYME (ca. 1850) SAMBA LELE
E-Major

1.Time Signature: 2/4
2.Tempo:72
3.Strokes: Not defined
4.Measures:25
5.Phrases: Not defined
6.Dampings:10
7.Repeats:Yes,m1 to 4,m6 to m9,
8.Special effects: No
9."#" symbol: Yes, C#,D#,F#,G#
10.Natural Symbols:Yes,m10,m14
11.Lyrics: No
12.Rest: Yes,one sixteenth,one eighth,and Volta brackets at m16,17, (1st and 2nd endings, or 1st- and 2nd-time bars)
A repeated passage is to be played with different endings on different playings; it is possible to have more than two endings (1st, 2nd, 3rd ...).wiki
13.Glissando/Slide:No
14.Grace note:No
15.Slur:Yes
16.Articulation:Yes,Fermata Symbol at m25
17.Dotted notes:Yes,
18.Barre:Yes,
19.Tie:Yes
20.Harmonic:Yes,quarter note m25
Definition:Barre,In music, a barre chord (also known as bar chord or rarely barr chord) is a type of chord on a guitar or other stringed instrument, that the musician plays by using one or more fingers to press down multiple strings across a single fret of the fingerboard (like a bar pressing down the strings).
Players use this chording technique to play a chord that is not restricted by the tones of the guitar's open strings. For instance, if a guitar is tuned to regular concert pitch, with the open strings being E, A, D, G, B, E (from low to high), open chords must be based on one or more of these notes. To play an F? chord the guitarist may barre strings so that the chord root is F?.
Barre chords are sometimes called "moveable" chords,[1] as the player can move the whole chord shape up and down the neck.[2] Commonly used in both popular and classical music, Barre chords are frequently used in combination with "open" chords, where the guitar's open (unfretted) strings construct the chord. Playing a chord with the barre technique slightly affects tone quality. A closed, or fretted, note sounds slightly different sound than an open, unfretted, string. Barre chords are a distinctive part of the sound of pop music and rock music.wiki

Anybody has good tips on barre? One of my main problems is my fingers get tired very quickly and can not maintain enough pressure on the fret to produce clean notes. I read somewhere that you can create additional pressure by pulling back the whole arm from the shoulder. But this trick doesn't seem to work for me. There is very little improvement on the sound, but a lot of stress on my wrist.

Chu - I had the exact same problem you had and tried similar stuff like pulling back whole arm. I just kept doing exercises like the BARRE exercise in this lesson. What I found after weeks (a month?) of doing the BARRE with a lot of force, I could now do the BARRE with very little pressure. I think it was doing it for 5-10 minutes everyday and building up the callus and finger strength that made it work for me. And believe me, I felt I would never get it. I can do the BARRE exercise of this lesson with relative ease. I wish I could say the same with the 3 pieces of this lesson

Chu Bun wrote:Anybody has good tips on barre? One of my main problems is my fingers get tired very quickly and can not maintain enough pressure on the fret to produce clean notes. I read somewhere that you can create additional pressure by pulling back the whole arm from the shoulder. But this trick doesn't seem to work for me. There is very little improvement on the sound, but a lot of stress on my wrist.

Chu, somewhere I read this exercise to eventually reduce the amount of grip. Start the barre exercises with almost no pressure on the strings at all. They won't even buzz, they'll just be no sound really. then increase pressure next time slightly, maybe just till the strings buzz. then a little more, still buzzing. Then a little more, and you will see how many strings will not buzz. Then more till all strings just stop buzzing. THIS IS ALL THE PRESSURE YOU NEED. Try to keep this relaxed pressure in mind when playing and go back to this exercise once in a while to remind yourself you don't need vice grip pressure on all strings all the time.

Of course building strength is also key. Sor's Bm Etude was a killer for me, and now I still use that etude to keep in shape.

All this time I thought I was making music; it was making me.
2015 Steve Ganz "Solidarity"
1980 Dauphin D30
1962 Fender pre-CBS P-Bass
National Triolian Uke ca.1930
Almost as many fly rods as guitars
_/) _/)
_/)

Thank you guys for the tips. I tried everything, but still could not do the #46 and 47 on page 100. By the time I get to the 5th fret, the muscles between the index finger and thumb are in lots of pain. I don't remember having problems with barres as a teen when I first learned to play guitar. Something is probably not right with my hand. Maybe it's time to see a doctor.

By the way, the pieces for the month are ridiculously difficult compared to the previous lessons. Luckily the exam piece does not look so bad.

Chu Bun wrote:Thank you guys for the tips. I tried everything, but still could not do the #46 and 47 on page 100. By the time I get to the 5th fret, the muscles between the index finger and thumb are in lots of pain. I don't remember having problems with barres as a teen when I first learned to play guitar. Something is probably not right with my hand. Maybe it's time to see a doctor.

By the way, the pieces for the month are ridiculously difficult compared to the previous lessons. Luckily the exam piece does not look so bad.

Chu, I don't think anything is wrong with your hands I have the same muscle pain when doing barre continuously. Not only pain but also weakness to the point you cannot control the pressure any more. It gets away (more or less) with regular barre exercises (like with any other muscles). Also, as Rick mentioned, we should only apply the pressure we need. The hardest part is the middle joint (my weakest string is G), so, one should focus on applying enough pressure to the middle strings (bottom and top come naturally).
Fortunately, most pieces do not have that much continuous barre, so the muscle has enough time to recover in between.

Chu Bun wrote:I don't remember having problems with barres as a teen when I first learned to play guitar. Something is probably not right with my hand. Maybe it's time to see a doctor.

You're getting old Chu
I agree with Andrei, probably nothing wrong unless you have been able to do this ok say a yr ago.
Probably best to practice slowly building up strength between now and next yr, we don't need it for exam so no reason to stress your hand.

Chu Bun wrote:Thank you guys for the tips. I tried everything, but still could not do the #46 and 47 on page 100. By the time I get to the 5th fret, the muscles between the index finger and thumb are in lots of pain. I don't remember having problems with barres as a teen when I first learned to play guitar. Something is probably not right with my hand. Maybe it's time to see a doctor.

By the way, the pieces for the month are ridiculously difficult compared to the previous lessons. Luckily the exam piece does not look so bad.

Back in the late 70s John williams had a big hit with Cavatina - I bought the record as a 45 single and played it over and over. I loved it so much I thought I would learn to play it, so hot footed it down to my local music shop and bought the sheet music - only to find that it contained baree after baree. I tried and tried to play it, but all those barees were too much for me and I finished up injuring myself. It stopped me playing the guitar for quite a while.

These days I can manage all the barees in Cavatina, but it still does not sound anything like as good as JW. I built the strength up in my wrist over a number of months and stopped as soon as I felt the smallest amount of strain in my wrist.

As far as this month's pieces are concerned, they are all a bit of a challenge in different ways. But of couse that's what we signed up to this course for right?

BRANLE ANGLAIS - The base line is nearly all open stings, so no challenge there. The melody is really a slur exercise, or hammer on and pull offs. Most of the slur exercises I have practiced before have been really boring - so its nice to have one that is part of a melody. How much of a challenge depends on how much you've done on slurs in the past.

JACARAS - This is really just a few simple strummed chords which we are supposed to improvise on. This can be as easy or difficult as we choose to make it.

SAMBA LELE - Nothing too technically difficult here. the problem is the getting the rhythm right. A number of possible solutions here: Counting the beats as JF does, listen to the music over and over ...tapping out the beat. Sing along with Jean Francois (also a good title for a radio/tv show). And no, I haven't got the hang of it yet either.

As for the examination piece, I think the main challenge is the number of repeated sections - making them all different enough to make the piece sound interesting.

By the way, does anyone know what the protocol is for the exam piece - do we post our practice attempts here so we can help one another?

The Student's Corner thread is for all classes. There may be too much traffic there. Should we start our own thread somewhere to discuss just the d03 final exam piece? Maybe in the Spanish/English forum where there people write dummy post to keep the account alive? I find it very helpful to see other clips and learn how they approach the piece.

The Student's Corner thread is for all classes. There may be too much traffic there. Should we start our own thread somewhere to discuss just the d03 final exam piece? Maybe in the Spanish/English forum where there people write dummy post to keep the account alive? I find it very helpful to see other clips and learn how they approach the piece.

I have startred a thread in the english section of the spanish forum titled: D03 Exam piece 2017

I'm hoping that if this is not allowed one of the moderators will let me know.